Château Dalem

The estate

Dalem is an 18th-century property at Saillans, facing Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, among vines first planted in 1610. In the old books it was the cru Dalem of the Duclion family: Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, list it among the côtes growths of Saillans in 1893, at 35 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), and the Duclions still held it in 1922. Michel Rullier bought it in 1955; his daughter Brigitte Rullier-Loussert took over in 2002, and her son Charles Pouvreau joined her in 2018. A new winery on 3 floors, begun in 2017 and opened in 2019, holds a semicircular vat room, an underground barrel cellar and a terrace, and in 2019 Éric Boissenot became consulting oenologist.

The 20 hectares are divided into 15 plots, each with its own soil, grape and age, on clay and limestone, planted 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The harvest is by hand, variety by variety and plot by plot as each ripens, with sorting before and after destemming, 1 of them by density. Each plot has its own vat; fermentation runs 3 to 4 weeks in concrete and steel vats with built-in temperature control, and the malolactic takes place in barrel. The wine then ages 16 to 18 months in the underground cellar at 14°C, in French oak from 6, sometimes 7, coopers set against each other. Brigitte Rullier-Loussert also makes Château de La Huste.

At a glance

Appellation

Fronsac

Commune

Saillans

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Rullier family, since 1955

Direction

Brigitte Rullier-Loussert, since 2002; Charles Pouvreau, since 2018

Consultant

Éric Boissenot, since 2019

Vineyard

20 hectares in 15 plots

Ground

Clay and limestone

Grapes

Merlot 85%, Cabernet Franc 15%

Cellar

Winery of 2019; plot by plot; 16 to 18 months in French oak

Wines

Château Dalem; Château de La Huste

In history

The cru Dalem of the Duclion family, 35 tonneaux, 1893 to 1922

Source: Château Dalem